WITH MEETINGS
NZ just weeks
away, it would
be polite
and even
helpful to those attending the
event to learn a few words, or at
least attempt to understand the
strange but colourful language
they speak across the ditch.
If Maori is a bit much to learn
for a two day event (although for
the scholars, Kei te pehea koe?
or How are you? is always a good
shot), you can always try the Kiwi
take on the English language.
For this information we are
grateful to Victoria (Vicki) Wales
from HOT Events in Christchurch
who kindly sent these easy to
learn expressions and their
meanings.
For example:
A is for Arm – uttered when
thinking; B is for Bull – what
you’re charged for the meal; C
is for Cuds – children; D is for
Donut – long version of don’t;
E is for Ear –what we breathe;
F is for Fush – sea creatures; G
is for Guess – used for cooking
or heating; H is for Hull – land
which isn’t flat; I is for Ice Cream
– what I do when the All Blacks
lose; J is for Jug – type of Irish
dance; K is for Ken’s – popular
holiday city in Queensland; L is
for Lust – something you write
before going shopping; M is for
Milburn – Capital of Victoria; N is
for Nutter – to have a yarn; O is
for One doze – a pane of glass in
a wall; P is for Pigs – found on the
clothes line; Q is for Quad – slang
term for a British Pound Note; R
is for Rung – piece of jewellery;
S is for Sucks – the number after
five; T is for Tin – the number
after nine; U is for Undies – West
Indies, good at cricket; V is for
Volley – area between two hulls;
W is for Windy – a girl’s name; X
is for Xylophone – it’s the same in
any language and Y is for Yuppie –
an expression of delight.
The letter Z apparently isn’t
found in the New Zealand
alphabet - ah wull!
Jill

IN another bid to demonstrate
Australia’s business events
capacity, Tourism Australia and
16 Australian business events
industry partners will attend a
showcase in South East Asia this
week.
The showcase was in Singapore
until yesterday and will be in
Kuala Lumpur until tomorrow,
when it will move to Jakarta until
Friday.
One such partner is Gold Coast
Business Events (GCBE) (account
manager Asia Amanda Barnett
is pictured second from left with
agents at last year’s show case).
Gold Coast Tourism business
events director Anna Case said
South East Asia, Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia were key
markets for incentive travel for
the Gold Coast.
Indonesia is a growing market as
many of the corporate companies
here are looking further afield
and exploring Australia and in
particular the Gold Coast as an
incentive option.
“Malaysia maintains a steady

flow of business with some good
groups visiting the city in the first
six months this year.
“Similarly, Singapore is a
consistent market for the Gold
Coast.”
GCBE said it was critical that it
participated to show strength on
behalf of the country and present
new products and experience
ideas for the region.

New Pier One gm

PIER One Sydney Harbour has
a new general manager in Kim
Mahaffy.
Mahaffy was most recently the
Marriott International Asia Pacifc
brand senior director, based in
Hong Kong.
Mahaffy has held several
Marriott International positions
through Asia and Australia, a
spokesperson said.

Four Points Geelong
FOUR Points by Sheraton
Geelong has a conference special
on offer.
Booking a residential conference
for this year gives two valueadds of the booker’s choice,
including a data projector, WiFi in
the entire hotel or one room for
every 25 booked.
Bonuses include double
Starpoints and free parking
or return coach transfers for
residential conferences held in
June and July.
For more information, email
events@fourpointsgeelong.com.

Rydges
Sydney Central
Opened April 7

Page 1

Flamin’ strings

business events news
28th May 2014

EEAA constitution change

HHM209 04/14

THE constitution of the
Exhibition and Events Association
of Australia (EEAA) has been
changed to include five
“organisers” rather than the
previous four.
The change was to ensure
one of the board positions
would always be held by an
association organiser, with ceo
Joyce DiMascio saying since a
growing number of associations

Earn conference
rewards* when
booking in New
Zealand.
Visit the Heritage team at
stand 201. 18 & 19 June at
MEETINGS 2014 trade
show.
*Conditions apply, refer to the website.

were joining the organisation, the
change would ensure there was a
designated board position for this
type of member.
“Many industry Associations
rely on their exhibitions to
drive revenue to fund their
organisations – they represent
an important and growing area
of membership in the EEAA and
this change ensures they have
a designated seat at the Board
table.”
The change was made at the
annual general meeting on 21
May, where Domenic Genua was
also reappointed as president.
The EEAA 2014/15 executive
committee includes Melbourne
Convention and Exhibition Centre
ceo Peter King, International
Convention Centre Sydney
exhibition sales manager Helen
Mantellato, who was re-elected
after stepping down last year,
and Sydney Showground general
manager Peter Thorpe.
Pictured from left are Ian
Ferguson, Mantellato, Bob
Moore, Jo-Anne Kelleway, Matt
Pearce, Genua, Thorpe, Bob
O’Keeffe and King.

ENHANCE Entertainment has
a hot new act in Violin Stunt
Troupe’s ‘Strings on Fire, said to
make any event unforgettable.
With performance displays
previously seen only in Cirque
du Soleil the prodigious on-stage
talent of ‘Strings on Fire’ fuses
elements of violin, tango and
fire with a uniquely formulated
combination of circus stunts that
include rola-bola, swords, knives,
and flaming fiddle bows.
Call 1300 884 485 for more
information.
CLICK HERE to watch a video of
the troupe.

Good for Hawaii too
AN exciting Jetstar group
incentive offer is running from
now to 30 Jun and is currently
being promoted in BEN.
Hawaii Tourism Oceania has said
the offer is a great incentive for
organisers to bring groups to the
Hawaiian Islands.
The deal is, pay a deposit on a
group booking between these
dates, and receive a Jetstar
voucher from $50 for 10 to 49
passengers, up to the value
of $500 for more than 150
passengers.
The voucher is issued in the
name of the group organiser and
sent to the email address on the
booking within 14 days of the
deposit payment being received.
The offer is only valid for Jetstar
group bookings made in Australia
or New Zealand.
Jetstar flight voucher terms and
conditions apply.

BOOK YOUR CONFERENCE AT
QT PORT DOUGLAS BEFORE 30 JUNE
2014 AND YOU WILL RECEIVE EITHER
A complimentary cocktail masterclass
OR complimentary Foto Fun Times
Photo booth for 3 hours

crumbs!
BELLE Sky Cromwell hotel,
with 28 meeting and conference
rooms and located in the middle
of Ørestad, has a floor called Bella
Donna reserved for ‘ladies only.’
After complaints from two
people and three years of
legal disputes that it was
discriminatory, the Eastern High
Court in Copenhagen ruled in
favour of the Danish Board of
Equal Treatment and against
the hotel, upholding that it was
unlawful.
While not wishing to proceed
with the matter, ceo Allan
L Agerholm said the hotel
respected the decision of the
Court.
“Since it is not a matter of
principle for us, we do not want
to pursue it.
“Enough resources, both public
and private, have already been
wasted on what in our opinion is a
trivial matter, which is based on a
complaint from two people, who
have never visited our hotel.”
The hotel has directed that
everyone be allowed to book into
the 20 rooms, which put extra
focus on women’s wants and
needs on feeling completely safe,
relaxed or indulged.
However, men are also
welcome on this floor that offers
everything from large towels and
international women’s magazines
to beauty products.
Time will tell how many men are
encountered on the floor!

An InterConti first

HUDSON Mitchell has been
appointed as director of sales for
InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort
& Spa, the first Fijian citizen to
hold the position since the resort
opened in 2009.
An experienced hotelier, he
brings with him 14 years of
experience, joining the resort
from his role as director of
sales at Namale Resort & Spa in
Savusavu.
In his new role Mitchell will
be responsible for the resort’s
strategic sales objectives.

Page 2

Sitting Pretty

business events news
28th May 2014
More than a mouthful

YOU have to admire the clever
foodie name of ‘MorSul’ given
to the Art Gallery of NSW’s new
restaurant, café and event food
experience.
It will see Australian chef Matt
Moran (pictured) and business
partner Peter Sullivan from
MorSul (Moran and Sullivan),
together with Bruce Solomon of
Solotel, appointed as the Gallery’s
food partners from 01 Jul.
Director Michael Brand said
Moran and Sullivan were widely
known for their high-quality
restaurants and would bring a
contemporary food experience of
the highest creative order to the
Art Gallery.
“More than one million people
come to the Gallery each year
and are looking for great food
to complement their rich art
experience – whether at our
buzzing cafe, at our restaurant
with some of the best views of
Sydney, or at one of some 250
functions we hold annually.”
With plans to be announced
later in the year for a destination
dining concept in the existing
restaurant space, Moran said it
was an amazing opportunity to
offer a fresh range of dining and
event experiences within this
inspirational art space.

Emirates Airways Business Class
Welcome to Sitting Pretty, our regular review of
experiences up the front of the plane.

Lawrence joins Eunev

GLOBAL social network for
the events industry, Eunev.com,
has appointed Kerri Lawrence as
business development manager
to oversee their enterprise
program in the UK and work with
blue chip companies who don’t
track their event expenditure.
An Australian based in
London, Lawrence has a wealth
of experience in sales and
marketing, having owned her
own events business and with a
long working history with one of
Australia’s largest travel industry
bodies.

It’s all in the game
THE Langham Melbourne is
offering a season of winning day
delegate conference packages
from June until September.
The packages include deluxe
dinner events and overnight
accommodation including
complimentary breakfast and
WiFi.
What’s more, the hotel is
waiving room rental charges
for bookings arriving between
01 Jun and 30 Sep, subject to
availability and minimum number
of delegates and guests.
Full day conference packages
start from $85 per person
while overnight guests can take
advantage of the special rate
of $250 per room per night for
a deluxe grand classic room
including breakfast for one and
free WiFi.
Email Katherine.cross@
langhamhotels.com to find out
more.

Earlier this month BEN was privy to flying with Emirates aboard one of
its newer Airbus A380s flying from Dubai to Sydney. It’s not the first time
BEN has been fortunate enough to experience EK’s upper deck premium
cabin, but there are some subtle enhancements we noticed.

THE SEAT
Cabin configuration of Emirates’ A380 Business Class remains
unchanged with all seats providing direct aisle access.
Most noticeable in the revamp is a new tray-table & control/power
station (see our image gallery online). The new table fits snug beneath
the mini-bar and side table, swinging outwards and locking into a fixed
position. It replaces the old ‘push-&-click’ to release bi-fold version and
seems much larger. There’s plenty of space on the surface, with BEN
able to manage a laptop and multiple devices at one time.
The seat reclines to a full-flat bed at the flick of a switch. A small
return swings out from beneath the armrest and adds a couple of
extra inches of bed width, at the expense of an in-seat storage pocket.
A mattress provides added comfort. The footwell is now two tiered
(gone is the hidden shoe compartment) with a higher positioned
footrest forming the lower portion of the bed.
Such is the comfort and width of the seat, BEN observed a mother
and daughter lying stretched out, front to back, occupying one seat.
There’s also a handy illuminated seat-position control panel
mounted to the side table making it simple to reposition the seat in
the dark.
BEN’s window seat provides an abundance of storage compartments
beneath the window and in an overhead bin.

ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
Dubbed ‘ice’, Emirates in-flight entertainment system is industry
leading, offering 600 movie, TV program, music and audio channels.
A paired tablet device and remote/phone have been further refined.
The tablet is less bulky and lighter to handle (and its stand also now
features electronic buttons to raise & lower window shades). A touchscreen remote control/phone makes browsing the channels a breeze.
EK’s onboard WiFi service was out of action due to “technical issues.”

SERVICE
Service upstairs on EK’s A380 is impeccable and the variety of meals
is extensive, complemented by Neil Perry’s own Reuben sandwich - a
speciality dish inherited from alliance partner Qantas.
For dinner, BEN was torn over the venison & forest mushroom stew
or the seafood machbous, so crew provide both - and they are delish!
To view a gallery of images from BEN’s experience, CLICK HERE or
go to www.facebook.com/BusEvNews.

PO Box 1010 Epping, NSW, 1710
Business Events News is part of the Travel Daily group of publications
which also include: Travel Daily, Cruise Weekly & Pharmacy Daily.
Disclaimer:While every care has been taken in the preparation of Business Events News no liability can be
accepted for errors or omissions. BEN takes no responsibility for the opinions of its contributors/columnists.
Information is published in good faith to stimulate independent investigation of the matters canvassed.